National Archives at College Park
Cesar Chavez, pictured in July 1972.
Since The New York Times revealed last month that labor rights activist Cesar Chavez sexually and emotionally abused multiple women and girls over the course of his career, I’ve been glad to see social justice groups express solidarity with the survivors who came forward.
Not all survivors within the movement receive support when they disclose abuse—in fact, many are shamed, belittled, accused of disloyalty to the movement, pushed out of their jobs, or coerced into signing nondisclosure agreements that prevent them from speaking publicly about their experiences.
But still missing from leaders is the statement we need most, something along these lines: “For us and our movement partners, this is a wake-up call. We’re taking a hard look at what’s needed to make sure this has never happened and could never happen here.” That type of soul-searching could dramatically improve working conditions not only for women, but for everyone, as well as boost these groups’s effectiveness and capacity to build power.
A reckoning has to examine all internal dynamics, starting with culture and leadership: If someone has experienced abuse here, do they know who to tell, and do they believe they’ll be heard? How do we know? How do we choose and evaluate leaders in our organization—do we pay attention to their attitude toward staff members? What checks do we place on their power over others?
Values and vision can’t be an after-thought. Ask: Do we have a clear values statement that includes the need to eliminate patriarchal violence? Do we encourage people to describe the world we need and deserve? Do we model that vision as best we can?
Too often “internal reviews” stick only to policy, specifically legalities. We need to ask whether and how members and staff get grounding in the policy. Does it incorporate restorative justice and clear steps to investigate wrongdoing beyond individual behavior, no matter how high up that may go? Does the policy apply to all activities of the organization, including behavior in the community, at conferences or other off-site events? Does it include peer education?
And we can’t forget programming and training. How does the work of our organization reflect our rejection of oppressive behaviors and prioritize gender justice? Do we engage in that work in meaningful ways? Are we using resources to stop abuse and transform organizational culture?
Fortunately, great resources already exist. For years, Mónica Ramírez, founder of Justice for Migrant Women, has been leading a fight for “migrant and rural women’s right to live and work with dignity.” She’s talked extensively about their power and resilience, the importance of taking the fight against sexual violence to corporations, and of providing mental health support for survivors.
In her book Solidarity Betrayed, former AFL-CIO leader Ana Avendaño points to the campaign by the United Service Workers West, which represents janitors in Los Angeles, California, as an example of how a union can use “all the tools in its toolbox” to change industry and union culture. “All of its work in this area is worker-led and trauma-informed,” she says, including a peer-to-peer approach that allows workers to share and learn from each other’s experiences.
Avendaño is a strong advocate of doing away with nondisclosure agreements in instances of abuse complaints, and believes that organizations should release those who have already signed such agreements, which she points out value “the reputation of leaders over the safety of workers.”
Makani Themba, a social justice innovator finishing a book titled Our Beautiful Next, urges us to do our work “as if our highest hopes were possible,” to ground process and outcomes in our values with metrics to match.
Reporters at the Times took nearly five years to complete their investigation, working under strict secrecy to protect those who came forward. Social justice groups who launch a transparent, inclusive process to abolish sexually abusive behavior can have an impact almost immediately. It starts by saying, “We’re doing it.”